Blair Oaks went nearly six minutes between baskets at one point and two starters had to play with four fouls for the majority of the fourth quarter.
Nothing a lock-down defense can't fix.
The Lady Falcons' zone defense stifled the sixth-ranked Hermann Lady Bearcats in a 53-40 victory Saturday in the Capital City shootout at Fleming Fieldhouse.
"We really wanted to kind of find out where we were," Blair Oaks coach Darren Heckman said. "I thought collectively that was probably as close to the best four quarters we've played. We didn't score a lot in the second but we kept playing defense, which we talked about getting back to that being our identity. If we get stops then we can get into our offense."
The drought for the Lady Falcons started with just under five minutes left in the second quarter and didn't end until Brooke Boessen put through a short turnaround jumper about 50 seconds into the second half.
Even with all that time going by without any points, Blair Oaks still led 22-18.
It helps when the defense is doesn't let the opponent get near the rim.
"The zone obviously worked really well today," Heckman said. "In man-to-man we're just fouling too much, so in the zone at least we know where our help is and that allows us to still stay aggressive knowing that our help is there. They're not worried about getting beat off the dribble. And our length helps. We try to take advantage of that when we can."
Hermann got to within 24-23 with 5:39 left in the third quarter, but a Blair Oaks steal and a Bailey Rissmiller corner 3-pointer in transition plus a Claire Heckman steal and free throws from Halie Rackers followed.
Blair Oaks forced five turnovers in the third quarter and seven in the fourth. That defensive production helped the Lady Falcons score 33 second-half points after scoring just five points in the second quarter.
Blair Oaks led 34-29 heading to the fourth quarter and put the finishing touches on the game by outscoring Hermann 11-2 in the final five minutes.
Brooke Boessen, who committed her fourth foul late in the third quarter, helped keep Hermann at bay by drawing a charge with 3:14 remaining. Boessen had eight points.
"I thought Brooke did a really good job in the fourth quarter playing like six minutes with four fouls," Heckman said. "Drawing a charge, not just letting people score."
Rissmiller, who scored 12 of her 14 points in the second half, made it a 47-37 lead after that Hermann foul.
"We talked at halftime about attacking," Heckman said. "Bailey Rissmiller did a really good job, her and Halie both, offensively doing what they can do. Halie is a good shooter and Bailey can get to the rim. We talked to her about being confident and going in there."
Rackers, who was named the game's MVP, scored nine of her game-high 16 points by making her first three 3-point attempts.
"The biggest thing with her is talking about being ready to shoot every time she catches it," Heckman said.
Makenna Kliethermes added nine points for Blair Oaks, making 4-of-5 of her 2-point attempts.
Quincy Erickson led Hermann (7-2) with 12 points.
With Boessen, Heckman and Abby Girard all battling foul trouble, Peyton Kusgen and Kayla Jones provided big minutes off the bench and the Lady Falcon defense didn't miss a beat.
"They don't care if they score," Heckman said. "When they play defense they help us out a lot. They're not big, but they got rebounds. I think we have depth where we can survive that."
Blair Oaks (6-2) will host Fatima on Friday.